Grainfather!!

[murphyslaw]

I doubt it's necessary to recirculate pbw through it. At the end of the the transfer to your fermenter, there's wort and maybe debris in there. If you flush it with water immediately afterwards, without giving it time to harden, it should be clean. And if you recirculate hot wort before chilling, it should be sanitary.

Nevertheless, I do use oxiclean after each brew. Since I'm recirculating anyway, it's no extra effort.

 

[jfhoupt]

Well, the initial run went very good with only 1 glitch. After I hit boil and added the liquid malt and hops, it stopped heating. Checked Bluetooth application (which was working fine), went to manual, re plugged everything!!! Nothing worked. Figured maybe a bad controller, but the pump worked very well. Two hours past and I remembered - there is a "RESET" button on the bottom of the heating element. I leaned the GF and yep, the reset button was extended. Reset it, and she is heating like a good hot stove. Not sure what caused the heater to trip, but, everything is working as planned. So the malt/hops got an hour steep. Who cares. Getting use to the GF and the beer might not be too bad after all.

 

[skleice]

Well, the initial run went very good with only 1 glitch. After I hit boil and added the liquid malt and hops, it stopped heating. Checked Bluetooth application (which was working fine), went to manual, re plugged everything!!! Nothing worked. Figured maybe a bad controller, but the pump worked very well. Two hours past and I remembered - there is a "RESET" button on the bottom of the heating element. I tiltled the GF and yep, the reset button was extended. Reset it, and she is heating like a good hot stove. Not sure what caused the heater to trip, but, everything is working as planned. So the malt/hops got an hour steep. Who cares. Getting use to the GF and the beer might not be too bad after all.

My guess is that your extract settled on the element and tripped the reset.

 

[RedlegEd]

My guess is that your extract settled on the element and tripped the reset.

+1^^^ this. Having excessive gunk on the bottom of the kettle (whether by using extract or too much hop scum) may create an overheat situation which, in turn, trips the reset. That's why the GF instructions say to gently scrape the bottom of the kettle occasionally. Ed

 

[jfhoupt]

My guess is that your extract settled on the element and tripped the reset.

Thanks Gentlemen. Being in a hurry, not use to an electric heating element, allowing the extract to collect on the bottom of the kettle. I did go back and scrap/stir and removed a little extract from the bottom thinking it might burn but didn't think of the reset. And to think this is the first time I ever read the instructions and went, yea, overheat, reset, I won't need that it's only water?! Next time I'll pour slowly and stir at the same time. Thanks for your help. John

 

[Oh_Papi]

I doubt it's necessary to recirculate pbw through it. At the end of the the transfer to your fermenter, there's wort and maybe debris in there. If you flush it with water immediately afterwards, without giving it time to harden, it should be clean. And if you recirculate hot wort before chilling, it should be sanitary.

Nevertheless, I do use oxiclean after each brew. Since I'm recirculating anyway, it's no extra effort.

I did check... because of Murphy's Law. Now I feel better. I was envisioning the insides like a polyp filled colon. All's well.

 

[mmmWord]

After pulling the basket up allow the mash to drain well before sparging.

Interesting, that conflicts with other advice (which I was following) to begin sparging immediately. Will give it a go.

 

[cpham574]

Has anyone used extra sparge water for higher grain bills? I thought I read somewhere that people are getting better efficiency by using extra sparge water and then boiling to targeted preboil volume before starting their 60 mins

 

[Hop]

First brew day went great right up until...

Cooling.

The pump simply could not pump through the chiller. Never even used the damn thing before.

Tried all of the tricks I read about short of the bike pump (don't have one that fits it). I don't know what could be stuck in there having never been used before.

Unfortunately, I couldn't use my immersion chiller properly because I usually brew outside and was indoors. My normal chiller has garden hose connections and I didn't have enough connectors to get it connected properly.

I ended up connecting a stainless steel chiller, putting it in an ice bath, and just pumped the wort out through there into my fermentor.

The batch is likely ruined unfortunately.

I wish I had an idea of why the counterflow chiller simply won't pump through. Attempting to blow through it yielded zero air movement whatsoever.

Ugh.

 

[treacheroustexan]

First brew day went great right up until...

Cooling.

The pump simply could not pump through the chiller. Never even used the damn thing before.

Tried all of the tricks I read about short of the bike pump (don't have one that fits it). I don't know what could be stuck in there having never been used before.

Unfortunately, I couldn't use my immersion chiller properly because I usually brew outside and was indoors. My normal chiller has garden hose connections and I didn't have enough connectors to get it connected properly.

I ended up connecting a stainless steel chiller, putting it in an ice bath, and just pumped the wort out through there into my fermentor.

The batch is likely ruined unfortunately.

I wish I had an idea of why the counterflow chiller simply won't pump through. Attempting to blow through it yielded zero air movement whatsoever.

Ugh.

Does the pump work at all or is it just when you're trying to pump through the chiller?

 

[Hop]

Just through the chiller. Works through recirculation arm, works through a different chiller.

I blasted through it with CO2 and nothing came out but moisture. I just connected it back with plain water and it seems to work.

Really unsure what could have gone wrong. My grain wasn't overcrushed. I only used 1.25 oz of pellet hops. I attached/reattached several times to see if I simply didn't screw it tightly enough. I pulled the ball and spring out and they weren't clogged (kept them out).

I even tried pushing through it after going through the recirculation arm for a minute and it still wouldn't budge.

After draining to a carboy (now in the freezer trying to get it down to pitching temp and hoping for the best), I couldn't see any obvious issues. Everything was still intact. Trub wasn't particularly thick. I did the whirlpool with a Jaybird contraption before trying to pump.

It was quite a horrible capper to an otherwise great brew day.

 

[AnthonyTD]

Hop,

The first thing you you should have done after getting the grainfather is to clean it as per instructions. Assuming you did this did the pump drive the cleaning solution through the chiller then?

 

[Hop]

I did clean it, and I believe it worked then.

I cleaned it again after brewing and pushing CO2 through it and it seems to be fine.

Still no idea what happened.

My second brew with it will be outside in case I need the old chiller again. Hopefully it was a fluke.

 

[Minnesota_Micro]

I've been brewing with grainfather for a few years now.

Biggest complaint is the time it takes to get to a boil, otherwise for the process it's a fantastic system

I've brewed multiple 20-21 lb grain bills in my US system, and some tips..
1. Cover the two holes at the top with aluminum foil.
2. Remove SS ball and spring in pump pipe to stop clogs.
3. Stir grains once or twice throughout mash to help with efficiency.
4. Make a shorter, secondary silicon tube, thart connects to recirculation pipe for large grain bills (2-4 inches?)
5. Hop spiders/bags/baskets are a must, otherwise clogs are the worst during worth chilling (stirring and scraping pump filter can help.)

I went from about 65% efficiency to 85% making these small tweaks on my GIANT grain bills. Been very happy with GF overall! Done several RIS and Barleywines that ended up at 12.5-13% abv for 5.5gallon batches. Happy brewing, cheers!

 

[doogster]

Just through the chiller. Works through recirculation arm, works through a different chiller.

I blasted through it with CO2 and nothing came out but moisture. I just connected it back with plain water and it seems to work.

Really unsure what could have gone wrong. My grain wasn't overcrushed. I only used 1.25 oz of pellet hops. I attached/reattached several times to see if I simply didn't screw it tightly enough. I pulled the ball and spring out and they weren't clogged (kept them out).

I even tried pushing through it after going through the recirculation arm for a minute and it still wouldn't budge.

After draining to a carboy (now in the freezer trying to get it down to pitching temp and hoping for the best), I couldn't see any obvious issues. Everything was still intact. Trub wasn't particularly thick. I did the whirlpool with a Jaybird contraption before trying to pump.

It was quite a horrible capper to an otherwise great brew day.

I wonder if you didn't have the CFC connected quite fully to the recirc piping. If not, the spring/ball would prevent any flow.

 

[cpham574]

I've been brewing with grainfather for a few years now.

Biggest complaint is the time it takes to get to a boil, otherwise for the process it's a fantastic system

I've brewed multiple 20-21 lb grain bills in my US system, and some tips..
1. Cover the two holes at the top with aluminum foil.
2. Remove SS ball and spring in pump pipe to stop clogs.
3. Stir grains once or twice throughout mash to help with efficiency.
4. Make a shorter, secondary silicon tube, thart connects to recirculation pipe for large grain bills (2-4 inches?)
5. Hop spiders/bags/baskets are a must, otherwise clogs are the worst during worth chilling (stirring and scraping pump filter can help.)

I went from about 65% efficiency to 85% making these small tweaks on my GIANT grain bills. Been very happy with GF overall! Done several RIS and Barleywines that ended up at 12.5-13% abv for 5.5gallon batches. Happy brewing, cheers!

This is great advice! How are you fitting ~20lbs of grains and water for the mash inside the Gf?! I’m doing a 16lb grain bill soon and with 1.7qt/lb I need almost 7gals to mash.

Also, when do you sparge? I’ve been waiting until most of the mash water is drained before I start sparging. I wonder if that’s where I’m losing efficiency

 

[Hop]

I wonder if you didn't have the CFC connected quite fully to the recirc piping. If not, the spring/ball would prevent any flow.

I tried connecting/disconnecting/reconnecting several times and even removed the ball and spring. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the issue. I've been unable to diagnose what went wrong at this time, which is more frustrating than having an issue in the first place.

At this point, if it happens in my next brew, I'll go back to immersion. All other aspects of the day went great.

 

[Ban Yan]

Yes, I have a grainfather as well. All in all it's a very neat, compact system. There are a few famous pinch points with the grainfather though, two of which I have run into. Some sort of addition to the pump inlet filter is a must with a grainfather, like a hop sock around it or something. If that pump gets clogged, your wort ain't moving when your boil is done. It's also quite easy to dislodge the filter while stirring the wort during the boil.

I also bought a heat stick (basically it's a waterproof mount for a water heater element) to aid it in getting to to a decent boil. That's all the major issues I've run into this far!

Final tip: there are a lot of seperable bits and pieces. I've already misplaced the handle for the grain sleeve! It may have gotten thrown out with some spent grain, derp! Something to keep in mind -- make sure you know where all the pieces are. You think it couldn't happen that you'd lose stuff and then it does.

Ha! I will have to check that out! I read the reports about clogging. I used hop bags. I did however use about a 1/4 ounce whole hops at the end because I hit a higher gravity than anticipated. No issues whatsoever! Super clear wort into the carboy! All in all, I was really not sure what to expect from some of the reports. I am very happy with it. I looked at the brew boss and just wasnt able to fork out 2K for a setup. I still had to get a HLT and the basic essentials as I was starting from scratch. With the cost of EVERYTHING needed (including a hop scale) I spent $1300! Includes grainfather, carboy carrier, bottle bucket, spare carboy, kettle ect.... I really think it depends on which one you feel would do the trick. That said, I would not at all hesitate on the Grainfather. I got mine from Williamsbrewing and they offer a 60 or 90 money back return.

 

[Lucky Cat Brew]

Yes, I have a grainfather as well. All in all it's a very neat, compact system. There are a few famous pinch points with the grainfather though, two of which I have run into. Some sort of addition to the pump inlet filter is a must with a grainfather, like a hop sock around it or something. If that pump gets clogged, your wort ain't moving when your boil is done. It's also quite easy to dislodge the filter while stirring the wort during the boil.

I also bought a heat stick (basically it's a waterproof mount for a water heater element) to aid it in getting to to a decent boil. That's all the major issues I've run into this far!

Final tip: there are a lot of seperable bits and pieces. I've already misplaced the handle for the grain sleeve! It may have gotten thrown out with some spent grain, derp! Something to keep in mind -- make sure you know where all the pieces are. You think it couldn't happen that you'd lose stuff and then it does.

I totally know what you mean. I lost my grain pipe components after my first batch and have already had to order a new one.

 

[RedlegEd]

First brew day went great right up until...

Cooling.

The pump simply could not pump through the chiller. Never even used the damn thing before.

Tried all of the tricks I read about short of the bike pump (don't have one that fits it). I don't know what could be stuck in there having never been used before.

Unfortunately, I couldn't use my immersion chiller properly because I usually brew outside and was indoors. My normal chiller has garden hose connections and I didn't have enough connectors to get it connected properly.

I ended up connecting a stainless steel chiller, putting it in an ice bath, and just pumped the wort out through there into my fermentor.

The batch is likely ruined unfortunately.

I wish I had an idea of why the counterflow chiller simply won't pump through. Attempting to blow through it yielded zero air movement whatsoever.

Ugh.

Hi. What a bummer! I doubt the batch is ruined unless it somehow got infected. Remember, lots of folks do no chill brewing and their beer turns out fine. Now, to the problem at hand. A little more information please...did the cooling water flow okay? If so, was it the wort flow that is/was plugged? Did it work okay when you first set it up and did the initial clean/run with just hot water? On the wort inflow side (the one that screws onto the return pipe,) I'd recommend checking that very carefully to ensure that the little detent piece is free from obstruction. That detent is designed to push against the SS ball that sits after the ball valve (unless you took the ball and spring out as many of us do.) If there truly is a blockage in the wort side of the CFC, I'd give your supplier a call and they should send you another quickly. As I told you in a previous post, GF is very good about fixing problems. It's a shame that you didn't catch this one before actually brewing a beer. Ed

 

[RedlegEd]

Yes, I have a grainfather as well. All in all it's a very neat, compact system. There are a few famous pinch points with the grainfather though, two of which I have run into. Some sort of addition to the pump inlet filter is a must with a grainfather, like a hop sock around it or something. If that pump gets clogged, your wort ain't moving when your boil is done. It's also quite easy to dislodge the filter while stirring the wort during the boil.

I also bought a heat stick (basically it's a waterproof mount for a water heater element) to aid it in getting to to a decent boil. That's all the major issues I've run into this far!

Final tip: there are a lot of seperable bits and pieces. I've already misplaced the handle for the grain sleeve! It may have gotten thrown out with some spent grain, derp! Something to keep in mind -- make sure you know where all the pieces are. You think it couldn't happen that you'd lose stuff and then it does.

@Ban Yan Hi, and welcome to the forum! I'd be careful about putting a hop sock over the filter, it'll clog it up worse. If you are running a hop heavy beer, I'd recommend a hop spider/strainer to keep most of the gunk from getting into the pump to begin with. I'd also recommend using a SS worm clamp on the filter hose to help prevent knocking it off. It sucks losing the handle for the grain pipe. It'll be a real challenge trying to pick it up using just the little holes! In any event, welcome aboard and thanks for contributing! Ed

 

[SanPancho]

while everyone is tossing out tips, how about some for doing smaller batches? say 2-2.5 gallon size?

im going to be using a GF for a while before my own build is finished, and doing alot of smaller batches. tips and tricks appreciated.

 

[Pkrd]

while everyone is tossing out tips, how about some for doing smaller batches? say 2-2.5 gallon size?

Apart from one double brew all my batches are around 3-3.5 gallons (2.5 gallon kegs).
Get the short pipework.
I use a hop spider and had to rig up a hanger to drop it lower into the wort.

 

[alestateyall]

Apart from one double brew all my batches are around 3-3.5 gallons (2.5 gallon kegs).
Get the short pipework.
I use a hop spider and had to rig up a hanger to drop it lower into the wort.

I do 3 gallon batches. I set the hop spider on the bottom of the boiler. It stays there nicely. I place it away from the filter.

I use the small pipe work. You can get away without the small pipe work if you watch the mash and make sure the wort is flowing down through the grain and able to recirculate through the pump. But, I do recommend the small pipe work. It’s good insurance for not starving the pump.

Sparging is very easy with small batches. I have never had the headaches people write about with larger batches.

Heating mash water and heating to boil is a breeze even with USA version. I have a heat stick from use with my old system. I hardly get to use it with the GF.

I am planning a no sparge brew soon just to see what that does to my efficiency.

 

[SanPancho]

Ok. Got it. Is 3-3.5 the typical volume you want in the unit at flameout for 2.5gals to ferm?

Alao- Im also wondering if sparge is worth it considering grain is chaep and i should be able to do full volume mash if im shooting for 3ish gals final. Or no?

 

[alestateyall]

Ok. Got it. Is 3-3.5 the typical volume you want in the unit at flameout for 2.5gals to ferm?

Alao- Im also wondering if sparge is worth it considering grain is chaep and i should be able to do full volume mash if im shooting for 3ish gals final. Or no?

I consider “batch volume” the volume into the fermenter. The GF apps do also.

A 3 gallon batch is perfect for a 2.5 gallon keg. I can fill a keg and have enough left in the fermenter to swirl and then pour off into a jar to save yeast.

 

[SanPancho]

My question was more along the lines of equipment losses, I.e. how much left in the kettle, pump, lines, etc. in addition to trub losss.

My 3gal fermenters aren’t great for filling to max, I’ve learned to live with 2gals in keg. Might be time to start using a 5gal keg as fermenter.

 

[alestateyall]

My question was more along the lines of equipment losses, I.e. how much left in the kettle, pump, lines, etc. in addition to trub losss.

My 3gal fermenters aren’t great for filling to max, I’ve learned to live with 2gals in keg. Might be time to start using a 5gal keg as fermenter.

I use a 5 gallon fermenter for 3 gallon batches. I am sure a 4 gallon fermenter would work if such a thing existed. On the other hand, I never need a blow off tube.

 

[eimar]

Received my GF last friday and I'm ready to do the 1st cleaning, But first, thank you to all the brewers who contributed to that very useful thread.
It is not clear to me: do I clean the GF with the inner basket and the flow pipe installed or do I clean them separately ?

Jacques
P.S. I had some tears in my eyes when I retired my faithful 25 years old three tier system and stored it in my locker

 

[treacheroustexan]

Received my GF last friday and I'm ready to do the 1st cleaning, But first, thank you to all the brewers who contributed to that very useful thread.
It is not clear to me: do I clean the GF with the inner basket and the flow pipe installed or do I clean them separately ?

Jacques
P.S. I had some tears in my eyes when I retired my faithful 25 years old three tier system and stored it in my locker

Whatever works best for you honestly. I tear everything apart and clean separate because I clean as I go instead of waiting until the end. It makes it a lot easier at the end.